Proud dad Brian says if the Bothwell 20-year-old plays to her potential she can triumph at Emirates.

Bothwell's Kirsty Gilmour can bring home a medal from the Commonwealth Games if she plays to her potential, says dad Brian (Photo: Badminton Photo)

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Brian Gilmour will beam with pride when daughter Kirsty competes in singles and doubles badminton events during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games – but he doesn’t want her to just take part.

Gilmour, himself a former accomplished badminton player, wants 20-year-old Kirsty to go for a medal, and knows she’s capable of bringing one home to Bothwell if she plays to her potential.

It’s not just fatherly pride either; the former St Bride’s Primary pupil is ranked No.17 in the world, and due to the withdrawal of Saina Nehwal, is second seed for the singles competition, which continues today (Thursday).

Brian said: “I’m really proud and delighted that Kirsty is taking part in the Commonwealth Games – even more so that she’s seeded second in the singles. She has a really good chance in the doubles, too.

“I really hope that Kirsty does well in the competition, and doesn’t just take part in it. I don’t like putting pressure on Kirsty, but she has got a chance of a medal.

“If she plays to the best of her ability, she should get a silver medal and, even with that, she has defeated the first seed before, so who knows? It really is going to be down to who plays well on the day.

“There is a lot of hope and it’s wide open; there are five or six girls who can beat anybody on their day, and it’s really going to come down to who makes mistakes at the wrong times, or the right times.

“It’s how you play on the day, and we’re going to take it one game at a time. Kirsty is seeded to reach the semi-finals and I think there’s a good chance that she will achieve that, but there are a lot of big games between now and then.

“A medal of any colour would be great. Yvette Yun Luo will have had her ready for all of the games and Kirsty will know the way they play well in advance. Badminton is a very professional sport now, in terms of how people prepare, and she will not go in unprepared.

“It will also be a great experience. The World Championships are coming up after the Commonwealth Games and this will put Kirsty in good stead for that, regardless of the result.

“There is some pressure on Kirsty in the Commonwealth Games, but probably less so at the World Championships. Both will be good experiences.

“The more specialised events are taken more seriously and Kirsty will be looking forward to the World Championships, but she put all her cards on the table and focused on the Commonwealth Games; she even dropped out of the Olympics set-up to do so.”

Kirsty was part of a Scotland team that crashed out to eventual winners Malaysia at the quarter-final stage, but Brian doesn’t think she will be affected by that.

He has been impressed with her development over the years, and reckons there’s more to come from the talented 20-year-old.

Brian said: “Kirsty has always had a good record of bouncing back and while losing to Malaysia in the team event wasn’t in any way a disgrace – to beat them you need to be playing out of your skin all the time – it is a defeat, so I think she will cope with that.

“At the end of the day, the Scotland team were seeded fifth, so they did exactly what they were expected to.”

He added: “I’m delighted with Kirsty’s progress.

“Every year she has risen to the challenge in front of her, and it has been great to see.

“She struggled on the European circuit at 17, but started winning at 18. She struggled a bit on the Super Series circuit, but this year she has started to beat some really good players, including those ranked No.9, 10 and 12 in the world (Spain’s Carolina Marin, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand, and China’s Han Li).

“I think Kirsty needs to work on her consistency a bit; she has the talent, now she needs to be a player that delivers consistently, because pretty soon she’s going to be expected to do it.

“When you work your way up the rankings, sooner or later you start to slow down, and whether that is at No.1 or No.10 remains to be seen. I think she will get into single figures, and she’s at No.17 at the moment.

“I’m delighted with the way she has developed in the last few years, and have to say it’s down to BADMINTONscotland.”